"There are definitely two goals in thinking what we wanted to do with Chief [in Halo 4]," said executive producer Kiki Wolfkill at a press briefing attended by Digital Spy.

"One of them was very gameplay-focused, which was really providing a very visceral first-person experience, and really focusing on what it felt like as a player to really embody Chief and really delivering on that fantasy of being a 900 pound Spartan, and the strength and power and athleticism that he embodies.

"How do we make sure the player is experiencing that in their first-person perspective?"

She continued: "Obviously we did some work on his armor, very much with functionality in mind, functionality with what we're doing today and also functionality with what we may do in the future.

"As well as looking at the HUD (heads up display), which is an element of the screen that you're seeing all the time, and really trying to figure out what that would look like and how it should feel for the player if they're a Spartan in the 26th century."

343 Industries' second goal for Halo 4 is developing Master Chief as more of a character through storytelling.

"There is such a rich fiction around Master Chief and around John that exists and in other mediums that really haven't traditionally been experienced in the game, so how do we really try and pull the curtain back a little bit on Chief as John, but also his motivations and really what's going on behind the mask in a way that's not disruptive for the player," said Wolfkill.

"One way of doing that is, again, really using that first-person perspective and using the characters around him to reflect on Chief himself.

"Cortana is a big part of that; she's obviously his closest friend and ally, and the relationship they share and how she is able to be a mirror for him, especially in that she's in some ways more human that he is, is an interesting device for us."

Wolfkill added that Master Chief will come up against an ancient threat that will shape and define him as a hero, adding "dimension as a character".